Shoe-fastener



T. TOYAMA.

SHOE FASTENER. APPLICATION FILED DEcf, 1920.

1,369,064, reeented Feb. 22,1921.

Femm@ r Qn.

. Fig. 1, of one of the'metallicfasteners on' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TAxEo fromim, or NEW YORK,l N.' Y.

snon-rasrnivna.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 22, 1921i.

Application filed December 3, 1920.y Serial No. 428,013.

the following is a clear and exact descrip,`

tion, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification.

My invention relates to shoe fasteners and more particularly to such devices as are utilized to secure the uppers of. the shoe` about the leg above the ankles.l

vide an improved arrangement of the-lacing, to provide improved securmg means and to improve the facility of operation and the` 0eneral appearance of the-'shoe f fasteners. @ther objects willappear as ,the description proceeds.` p

In a preferred .embodiment of the invention the shoe strings are passed through the lowest eyelets lof the shoe fromthe inside. Each end of theI shoe string 7 is passed y out through an eyelet ofthe shoe through one of the eyelet rings at an end of the'nietallic fastener and returned through the eyelet of the shoe. ,'Each end is then passeduns. derneaththe shoe to the. next higher eyelet, broughtk out and 4passed through the ring` fastener and. then returned through the same eyelet,1and soson until the top eyelets are reached. Then the ends of the' strings are brought of another usual manner.l

Reference is made to the drawings for a description of a preferred embodiment, of this invention 'in which like'numerals of reference refer toglike parts throughout .they

Fig. 2 is a crossfsection takenon the line.'

2 2, looking inthe directionof the arrows. Thev fingeris shown Vin position pressing down on the-stud `which --releases'the fastener.

Fig. 3 is a plan view, similar `to that of an enlarged scale, 'and v Fig. l is a bottom view of one of the me tallic-fasteners.showing the locking spring cut out from the body of the fastener.

outl and tied inthe Aside from the ornamental featuresof my invention the mechanical features yserve to greatly enhance the facility of operation by providing two fastening means entirely independent of one another in operation, and

yet so related to each other` that theyprovide first, a means for loosening or tightening the uppers about the footor ankle to make the shoe snugly fit the foot `and second, separate means for quickly attaching and detaching parts of the shoe so that the two uppers may be broken apart entirely to remove the shoe from the foot or to place it on" i c f, the foot. My' invention has for its object to pro- In this 'preferred embodiment of my invention Iy provide an oblong metallic struc- 1 ture l. This is formed of metal preferably i tempered steel. The bottomfis `provided with a spring catch, preferably made of tempered steel, cut out through the bottom and adapted' tointerlock with pone of the f fastening members andfto be released therefrom by pressure upon the stud 3,v which proJects throughan oval slot in the top of the fastener l. These studs Bare 'designed to be placed exactly-ink the center between thefoverlapping flaps of the shoe. In Fig. 2: finger 9 isjshown pressing down on the stud so as to release thespring catchy 2 from the eyelet ring 5.

`As shown iirF ig. 2 the eyelet ring yet is se-` cured to the fastener 1- so that when the fastener l is in positionr over thelshoe the Y eyelet ringe is in a vertical positionwith reference to the surface of the shoe and is adapted to be secured in position by yone' of theV shoe strings 7, which is passed out1 through-,one of the eyelets ofthe shoe,y through the eyelet ring l, and back through the eyelet ring ofthe shoe.

kThe parts l, 2,3 and el. are made integral with one another' and together 'forni one part of the fastening device. rllhem'etallicy y fastening device comprises also two eyelet rings 5 and 6. The eyelet ring 5 is adapted leased'from the fastener l by pressing downwithy the finger 9 on the Astud Suntil the spring catch -2 is below the'ring 5, in which position the rings 5 and 6 are easily withdrawn from the fastener 1. The rings 5 and c e I'a L i 6 ar prefe bly an integral meta1 structure having the eyelet rings formed at right an-Y gles to one another. The eyelet ring 6 is adapted to be held in a position parallel to that of the eyelet ring l and to be similarly secured to the shoe by means of the other string 7 which is passed out through the opposite eyelet of the shoe, through the ring 6, and again returned through the same eyelet of the shoe. It is understood that when the metal fasteners are in position over the uppers of the shoe they rest against the foot. There is a certain amount of give to these leather iiaps as will be readily understood and therefore, when the stud 3 is pressed by the linger the back of the spring catch 2 is pushed against the flaps 8 releasing the ring 5 and permitting it to be withdrawn from the fastener l.

Inl lacing a shoe with my improved iuvention I pass the ends of the shoe string through the lowermost eyelets of the shoe from the inside. Next I pass these ends through the eyelet rings 4 and 6 of the metallic fastener and return the ends of the shoe string 7 through the same eyelets through which I have drawn them. Then I carry the strings upward under the shoe to the neXt higher eyelets, bring themout, pass them through the rings a and 6 of the metallic fastener and again return them through the corresponding eyelets. It is clear that any desired number of metallic fasteners can be used and that a metallic fastener may be provided for every pair of eyelets, or for alternate pairs of eyelets, or any arrangement desired according to the requirements of the particular shoe structure. I continue to secure metallic fasteners to my strings in lacing until I reach the uppermost eyelets in the shoe. Then I bring out the ends of the string, grip each end with my fingers, and pull the strings taut. By this operation I draw together the flaps 8 of the uppers of the shoe as in the usual method of lacing a shoe. `When the desired tightness is secured I tie the usual knot at the top of the shoe, It' I find the shoe is too tight againstV my foot I can release the knot and tie another without unlocking the metallic fasteners. If the space between the flaps 8 is extended, more of the shoe strings 7 is brought out of the eyelets permitting the metallic fastening devices 1 to taire their position symmetrically between the uppers of the shoe.

In many cases it is desired to quickly remove the shoe as in the case of making a change in a theater. In this case by simply releasing the knot at the top and a few of the fasteners between the top and the bottom of the shoe the flaps may be moved apart a suiiicient distance to permit the withdrawal of the foot. Of course, if it is desired to entirely separate the flaps 8 vthat I have invented a new and useful shoe fastener that is capable of manufacture at low cost and that provides a fastener that permits of much greater facility in fastening, and particularly in unfastening shoes than those now in use. I have described lin detail a preferred embodiment of my invention and of course it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many details of mechanical structure may be changed within the scope of my invention and therefore I do not wish to limit myself except as in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. An improved fastening device for shoes comprising in combination means for loosening or tightening the fastening device whereby the edges of the uppers of the shoe may be spaced apart as desired and means for securing together and breaking apart the fastening device and capable of actuation independently of the loosening or tightening means whereby the edges of the uppers of the shoe may be opened separately. n

2. An improved fastening device for shoes, comprising in combination a shoe string and a metallic fastening device, said shoe string being adapted for attachment to the fiaps of the uppers of a shoe by meansY of the eyelets thereof and metallic fastening devices each of which comprises two parts, each of said parts carrying an eyeletring adapted toY receive one end of the shoe string and capable of quick detachment from the other of said parts.

3. A metallic fastening device for shoes adapted to secure together the edges of the flaps of the uppers of the shoe comprising two parts, each of which carries a ring adapted to receive the shoe string and by meansthereof to be secured to the uppers of the shoe, said parts being adapted to be fastened together by means of a springactuated locking device, and meansv for releasing said locking device comprising a stud adapted to be actuated by pressure of the finger.

4:. A fastening device for shoes comprising a body portion, an eyelet ring secured to one end of said body portion, a slot in the opposite end of said bod portion, a slot in the upper face of sai body portion, a

spring catch adapted to play in said 'first mentioned kend slot, and another' part comprising an eyeiet ring adapted to receive the shoe string and carrying thereon a member adapted to enter said first mentioned slot and to be secured therein by means of the aforesaid spring catch.

5. A fastening device for shoes comprising a body portion, an eyeiet ring` secured to one vend of said body portion, a slot in the opposite end of said body portion, a slot in the upper face of said body portion, a spring catch adapted to play in said firstmentioned end slot, and another part comprising an eyeiet ring adapted to receive the shoe string and carrying thereon a member adapted to enter said first-mentioned slot and to be secured therein by means of the aforesaid spring catch, and a stud attached to said spring catch and passing through the siot in the face of the fastening device.

G.r A fastening device for shoes comprising an oblong body portion adapted to lie on the surfaces of the Vuppers of a shoe to secure them together, an eyeiet ring carried by one end of said fasteningV device and a spring catch cut from the bottom of said device and provided at one end With a catch, a stud mounted on said spring catch and passing through a slot in the top of said device so that it may beereadily actuated by the finger', and a slot in the end of the de vice adjacent to the spring catch, a fiat horizontal member having an aperture therein so that said member may be passed into said slot and locked by means of the spring catch, said member comprising also an eyeiet ring so that when said fastening device and said locking member are rfastened together they form a fastening means capable of attachment to the shoe string on either sideof the shoe. e e

Signedfat New York, in the county and State of New York, this 30th day of November, 1920.

TAKEO TOYAMA. [1.. 5.] 

